Garcetti was nowhere to be seen, publicly at least, during the fight for bike lanes and sidewalks on the Glendale-Figueroa bridge, and the conflict over bike lanes on Westwood and North Figueroa. Much to the chagrin of many who expected him to step up and get involved.

He had a lot of support from the bike community when he ran for mayor two years ago. But aside from making a great choice to lead LADOT by appointing Seleta Reynolds, we’re still waiting for him to show us we made the right choice.

It’s the mayor’s job to lead the city.

So far, at least, he seems to be content to let the city council take the lead. And let a handful of councilmembers act like feudal lord in their little fiefdoms.

………

Local

Mrs. CiclaValley has her bike stolen from the NoHo Metro station, which is quickly becoming ground zero for bike thefts.

Huh? The local paper says bicycling collisions are up in San Luis Obispo because better infrastructure and bicycle education encourage more people to ride — even though bike-related ER visits have dropped significantly since 2009. So collisions are up, but injuries are down, and better infrastructure and education are to blame. Thanks to John McBrearty for the link.

San Francisco bicyclists jokingly puts a $100,000 bounty on a TV reporter who’s been critical of cyclists. At least, let’s hope it’s a joke; if it was serious, they probably wouldn’t have been posted it on Craigslist.

Sacramento bicyclists call for a tougher sentence for a driver who killed an experienced cyclist last year, while the judge in the case tosses out a proposed plea deal that left the victim’s family feeling blindsided.

The Bike League offers new model laws for better biking, including allowing drivers to cross double yellow lines to safely pass bicyclists, and let bike riders make their own choices regarding lane positioning instead of the outdated ride to the right regulations.

The laws are a lot tougher in Texas, but the results aren’t. An Austin driver faced up to 30 years in prison for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider; he ended up getting the minimum sentence of just two years. Thanks to Steve Katz for the heads-up.

Boston residents freak out when a flip flop-wearing bicyclist rides on a local freeway. Considering he’s shown riding in the left center lane, they’ve got a point.

After a Boston bike rider is killed by a semi-truck driver who left the scene, the focus is on improving truck safety rather than fixing the city’s most dangerous intersection.